by Carlos Barria and Kristina Cooke
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – A man broke into the California home of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi early on Friday, demanding to see her before violently assaulting her husband with a hammer.
Paul Pelosi, 82, was taken to a hospital in San Francisco, where he underwent surgery to treat a fractured skull and injuries to his right arm and hands, a spokesperson said. House of Representatives in a statement.
According to her doctors, Nancy Pelosi’s husband should make a full recovery, it added.
The suspect, David Depape, a 42-year-old man, was also taken to hospital.
According to sheriff’s office reports available online, he was logged into the San Francisco County Jail’s computer system.
This recording could have been made in his absence, the chief of the police of San Francisco, William Scott, having told journalists that David Depape was still in the hospital.
He is suspected of attempted murder, assault with a weapon, elder abuse and burglary.
Nancy Pelosi was in Washington at the time, according to Capitol Police.
Authorities were still trying to establish the reasons for the attack, which police dispatched to the Pelosi home witnessed before ending it, William Scott said.
The incident comes less than two weeks before the midterm congressional elections and raises fears that further violence could erupt before November 8.
CNN reported that Paul Pelosi called emergency services, cryptically explaining the situation he was in, prompting the caller to send law enforcement to his home.
Nancy Pelosi’s spokesperson said in a statement that her husband was attacked by “a man who used force and threatened his life by asking to speak with the Speaker (of the House of Representatives) “.
Few details about the suspect were known.
A person using the pseudonym “daviddepape” recently endorsed former US President Donald Trump on several websites and credited QAnon conspiracy theories.
In these posts, the user refers to “satanic pedophilia” and anti-Semitic stereotypes, criticizes women and transgender people, and speaks out against censorship imposed by tech companies.
Reuters was unable to confirm whether the man arrested on Friday was the author of the posts.
According to William Scott, the intruder entered the Pelosi residence through a door at the back of the house.
US President Joe Biden has called Nancy Pelosi to express his support, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said.
“Any morally sound person must clearly and unambiguously oppose violence in politics, regardless of their political orientation,” Joe Biden said in a speech delivered in Pennsylvania.
He also said that Nancy Pelosi left for San Francisco to join her husband.
Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarth also threw his support behind Nancy Pelosi.
The leader of the Republican minority in the United States Senate, Mitch McConnell, for his part said he was “horrified and disgusted” by the attack.
(With contributions from Brendan O’Brien, Jonathan Allen, Doina Chiacu, Rich McKay, Rami Ayyub, Tim Ahmann and Gram Slattery, written by Andy Sullivan and Steve Gorman; French version Camille Raynaud)